Microsoft Has Officially Cut Nokia's Brand From Its Most Popular Smartphone Line

Steve Kovach/Business Insider Microsoft and Nokia have officially announced that the Finnish smartphone maker will no longer be a part of the branding for Lumia Windows Phone devices.

Tuula Rytilä, Microsoft's senior vice president of marketing for phones, shared the news via Nokia's Conversations blog ( via The Verge). This means coming Lumia smartphones will be referred to as "Microsoft Lumia" rather than "Nokia Lumia."

Rytilä didn't specify exactly when we would see the first smartphone with this new branding, but she did say the company was "looking forward to revealing a Microsoft Lumia device soon."

Although Nokia's branding will no longer be present on Lumia devices, Microsoft will continue to release low-end Nokia phones.

The announcement comes several months after Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's mobile division. The Verge reported earlier this week that Microsoft would axe Nokia's branding from the Lumia line.

The move makes sense for Microsoft, because the Lumia line seems to be the most popular Windows Phone brand to date. And although Windows Phone is still far behind Android and iOS in terms of market share, Lumia sales seem to be growing.

Microsoft sold 9.3 million Lumia phones in its most recent quarter, which is a 5.6% increase from the 8.8 million Lumia handsets it sold during the same time last year, the company revealed in its Thursday earnings report.